So I am in the library at Uni, and I really should be studying for my two quizzes tomorrow worth 15% and 20% respectively, but I thought I would distract myself by writing a blog entry!

So there has been quite a bit of media hype recently over the controversial use of traditionally feminine influenced items in men's fashion. Things such as skinny jeans, cardigans, jewellery and feminine colours (e.g. pink and purple) have been deemed acceptable in men's fashion and have been included under the headings of metrosexual or indie. But other developments in men's fashion haven't quite received the same approval. Such items include men's skirts, tights (mantyhose), corsets, long tees (labelled as dresses by some), eye-liner (guy-liner) and other make-up, and fake eye-lashes.

As I have previously stated in my "Breaking Down Stereotypes" blog on YouTube, I believe these developments in men's fashion are fantastic. They force people to question what it means to be masculine, and also points out that gender roles, gender identity and sexual identity can and often are mutually exclusive. A heterosexual male can wear feminine influenced clothing, and that does not make him any less masculine. A HOMOSEXUAL male can wear feminine influenced clothing, and that does not make him any less masculine, or any less of a "man".

Once these stereotypes, linking particular gender roles with particular gender identities and particular sexual identities, are broken down, then one's sexuality will cease to matter (other than for dating) and there will be much less intolerance in the world.

So I've been preparing my blog for next weekend, and I realised tonight that I will completely miss Halloween (in terms of posting videos). Not that Halloween is a very big deal here in Australia, but thought that I would wish all those Americans celebrating a very happy Halloween and not to eat TOO much candy (just enough).

I don't know if anyone reads this blog yet, so it's a little weird thinking that I may be talking to nobody... It actually feels like when I first started video blogging on YouTube, and realising that very few people were actually watching. So if anyone is reading this, please leave me comments saying what sort of things you would like to see here, I'll be posting topical things and my comments on them, and my everyday happenings, and random thoughts, and recommended videos and channels on YouTube, and extra stuff not included in my posted videos... but let me know if there is anything in particular you think I might be able to comment on, or anything you would like to know about me... I feel I'm rambling, so will leave it at that.

My new video, "I Wish", was inspired by a fellow youtuber who posted the second video below a few days ago. If you have a youtube account, and even if you dont, I encourage you to make a video response either to his video or mine with your wishes, for yourself, your family, your friends, or the world in general. Here's the new video:

So this time last year my boss at work approached me to ask if I wanted to get involved with their Movember team. I had no idea what it was all about and read up on it and found out that it was raising money for men's health issues such as prostate cancer and depression, and all you had to do was grow some facial hair (the mo) for the month of November. So I decided to give it a go, and the result was this:

This year, after staunch opposition from friends, relatives, workmates, randoms on the street, randoms on Facebook, and especially my boyfriend, I have decided that I will accept sponsorship to NOT grow a mo for Movember. So if you would like to see me avoid this horrendous patch of facial hair growth on my face, then the details to sponsor me are below. Also below are links and details of what Movember is all about.

During Movember (the month formerly known as November) I'm (avoiding) growing a Mo. That's right I'm (avoiding) bringing the Mo back because I'm passionate about tackling men's health issues and being proactive in the fight against men's depression and prostate cancer.

Write a cheque payable to ‘Movember Foundation', referencing my Registration Number 1493391 and mailing it to:

Movember Foundation PO Box 292 Prahran VIC 3181 Australia

Remember, all donations over AU$2 are tax deductible.

The money raised by Movember is used to raise awareness of men's health issues and donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue - the national depression initiative. The PCFA and beyondblue will use the funds to fund research and increase support networks for those men who suffer from prostate cancer and depression.

Did you know:

Depression affects 1 in 6 men in Australia....most don't seek help. Untreated depression is a leading risk factor for suicide.

Last year in Australia 18,700 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 2,900 died of prostate cancer - equivalent to the number of women who will die from breast cancer annually.

This was one of my first talky blogs (to use a phrase coined by wickydkewl aka Davey Wavey) and is still one of my favourite topics that I've talked about. The philosophy behind this blog has driven me to talk about many of the other topics that have been in my blogs, so I guess that's probably why it's one of my favourites.

Kaysea81 is another youtuber who I really enjoy watching. He is creative with his videos and obviously has a lot of fun making them but often also sneaks in a few important messages, such as in this video: "don't vote and blow at the same time"

I've decided to start up a written blog to complement my video blog on YouTube (find it here)

So what better way to introduce myself than to post my 'About Me' video from my robmuch YouTube channel.

Hope you enjoy, and I welcome suggestions for the sorts of things you would like to see on this written blog as opposed to the video blog.

Captions:

Hi, my name's Rob, I'm 21 years old, and I've been making YouTube videos for about 3 months now.

I'm Australian, and I grew up in Canberra, which is a fairly small city and it also happens to be the capital of Australia.

I now live in Sydney and I go to University or Uni as we call it here. I'm in my third year of a Civil Engineering Degree, and I want to be a structural engineer. So one day I'll be designing bridges and buildings and tunnels and stuff like that.

At the moment I'm working part time supervising a call centre, and we ring people up to do surveys, so it's kind of evil work, but it's really well paid, so it helps through uni.

So that was the boring stuff about me, now I'm going to tell you some random facts about Rob.

I collect postcards, and so far I have about 3 shoe-boxes full of them.

I tend to spend a lot of time on the internet, so I've got a Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Stickam. I also frequently go to samesame.com.au, sydney morning herald (smh.com.au) and apple movie trailers.

I'm a bit of a control freak.

When I'm home alone I listen to music and dance around my apartment.

I don't play a musical instrument, but some day I would love to learn to play the piano.

I love chips (crisps), chocolate and icecream.

I've never broken a bone.

I have 8478 song on my iTunes, so I have a very eclectic taste in music. I like indie, electro, pop, alternative, house, rock, soft rock, chillout, brit pop rock and french electro.

I used to work in a cinema and would eat popcorn when no one was looking.

I like the volume on my stereo to be a multiple of 5.

I played tennis for 10 years when I was in school.

My bedroom fluctuates between being really clean and really messy, and at the moment it's really messy.

About Me

This is my written blog to complement my robmuch channel on YouTube. I post topical videos about once a week, as well as the occasional creative piece thrown in for fun. Topics range from politics and sexuality to music and fashion.